


The Picture

by Sardonic_Grin



Series: Tales from Shaolin [1]
Category: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cherry Soda Boy Universe, M/M, Slash, Toxic Relationships, drug references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sardonic_Grin/pseuds/Sardonic_Grin
Summary: That power. He thinks. Cloud gave him something he never had. Control over a person.Something he shouldn’t take for granted.But he is comforted by the fact that Cloud is many things includingPredicable.
Relationships: Reno/Cloud Strife
Series: Tales from Shaolin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141157
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15
Collections: Tales from Shaolin





	1. Peter Court

**Author's Note:**

> This story wouldn't gtfo of my head and leave me alone to write the actual _Cherry Soda Boy ___  
> Probably would have trouble knowing what's exactly going on if you don't read the original, but come along for the ride anyway.  
>  it's 2020. There's no rules.

**March 2005**

**The Picture**

Opulent. Lavish. Grandiose.

Reno runs his tongue behind his teeth. Counting all the adjectives for Rufus’ house like he can taste them. 

Metal. Bitter. Sprinkles of gold on ice cream having no business being there except to remind the wealthy the security of their status. 

Stench of overpriced perfume dances in the back of his throat like tiny ants. And he pierces his tongue with his canine to halt his vicious voice from slicing the blonde who has crawled next to him.

And snaked her arm around his, pulling him. Yanking him. Closer than he wants to be or needs to be; but there’s a fight brewing in the limited space between them. Like a tornado about to form. And uproot the entire overpriced, and grand, and luxury, mansion. 

And he’s not sure which boils his blood more. 

The girl with her head now weighing on his shoulder like a boulder. Or the green-eyed one across from him on the couch with his friend’s arm around her shoulder, staring at him like he’s prey.

If looks could kill, then they’d both be mangled messes on the Persian rug like a red ocean between them. 

Aerith already gave him an ear full when he managed to escape the French manicured claws of Elena and took residence in the back yard with his cigarette. He expected it. He had already been attacked by the actual blonde he wanted curled next to him, with his Armani cologne he swore he always wore- a lie, but Reno appreciated those kinds of lies. Not the kind of lies that spill from his own lips like blood from an open wound. The lies Aerith scolded him for in the brisk Winter night while he silently smoked his cancer, hoping he could evaporate into the air like all the toxins he puts in his body. 

She had been quiet, at least. Though he could feel he hairs on the back of his neck rise at attention when the pair of blue eyes- are they blue?- looked upon the scene from the other side of the glass sliding door. And he had to chuckle. The misunderstanding. For sure, Elena was whispering antagonist claims against Aerith, as if her fight was with the girl--

And Elena can talk big all she wants, but he was sure Aerith could knock her out. 

Something about Staten Island girls made his lips twitch in amusement; they don’t make ‘em like that where he’s from.

He could forgive Aerith. She wasn’t wrong. He was being selfish. Maybe even insecure, though when the word weasled into his ear he scowled.  _ Insecure _ . He clicked his tongue and waved her off her follow up; that he should be ashamed of how he’s treating both blonde haired suitors.

Disposable. 

She accused him of lacking a soul.

To which he shrugged. 

Which added lighter fluid to her flame. 

And asked flat out,  _ do you even care about Cloud? _

And he denied, to no one, that the sound of his name brought the world to an abrupt stop.

Even the smoke which gathered, at his lips like all his unspoken words, stilled and burned his mouth. And he let out a cough, met with an enraged glare at the smaller girl next to him with her vexed expression. And fucking judegemntal face. Acting like she knew the whole god damn story because her  _ ex fucking boyfriend _ looked sad for a week. 

And he was mad. Simple. Mad like a raging fire crushing all of nature. 

Mad at Aerith for being so bold as to utter that name in the presence of all those cowards in the house.

Mad at Elena who had begun rapidly rattling the glass with her warning knocks. 

Mad at Cloud--

He groaned. Being mad at Cloud meant he was mad at himself, and he already had a list piling up, he didn’t need the extra help. 

So the conversation was tabled. 

Or thrown aside, really, when the door opened and Elena’s accent cut the air 

_ Uh, Hello? _

_ We’re just talkin’, chill. _

_ Didn’t look like talking _

_ The fuck you know, woman. _

He brushed past her. She turned her attack on Aerith. And he disappeared into the living room to the chorus of their brewing altercation. 

He wondered why they end all their sentences with a long  _ a  _ even when the occasion doesn’t call for it.

He wondered how long he can demean a girl until she gets smart.

But then Rufus called Scarlet a  _ cunt _ over the phone as if on cue--

And forced Reno to consider they’ve all mistaken abuse for love.

Egregious. Iniquitous. Degenerates. 

And he loathed them all. 

Started to understand why every one of them took someone else's prescriptions. How could any one of them live with themselves otherwise.

The bowl at the center of the table, with a kaleidoscope of tiny pills, looks appealing suddenly. Now, Elena forgave him in the hopes he would offer her a sliver of attention. Something she treats as precious as diamonds and costs as much blood to acquire. Something he considers to be a necessary evil. 

Self preservation isn’t wrong.

He convinces himself.

Another lie. 

There’s adjectives he holds for himself when he lays in private. Under the crushing blackness of his empty room. A bed. A mattress. A dresser with sparse clothing. A single ceiling light in the center of the room. The vast emptiness. He thought he knew darkness living the semi-rural South his whole life, but the abyss that crawled along the walls of his bedroom, engulfing all the features and morphing them into one. Giant. Hole. of nothing. 

That’s darkness.

That’s silence. 

And his thoughts offer him nothing. Not even a conversation. 

Cloud, he notes, thinks too much. He sees the words splash along the others face when he stares down at him. The kid is so predictable, that if he hadn’t already had become the infected scratch on Reno’s heart, he might have actually cut him loose a while ago. 

He had adjectives for Cloud. 

Sensitive. Emotional. Sentimental

And this time he ran his tongue along the top of his teeth; tasting them. Like chocolate covered strawberries- bitter and sweet. Like fallen leaves. They taste like pumpkin and wood in a fire.

And Reno hates the way Cloud’s rubbed off on him, because now he equates words with taste. And what in the fuckin William Carlos Williams is  _ that shit _ . 

He sighs, out loud. Which alerts Elena and her frustrated  _ what's wrong whichyah _ .

He hates her accent. The way it curls and rots away her words like acid. 

And he’s about to say something to make her cry in the bathroom so at least she’ll  _ fuck off already _ . 

His phone vibrates----Once. 

He gets up with an excuse that it's his mom even though he didn’t look at the caller id. And even though he knew it would never be his mom. He ducks into the bathroom, barely noting that Aerith's phone starts going off.

**New Message: Sugar Baby**

Reno grinds his teeth and sounds like a train barreling through his head. Shaking like bones. The clatter of chains as they drag across limonium floor.

He knows from the way his stomach swarms like a million moths, 

This won’t be good.

And all the messages before were not good.

And the voicemail the owner of that name left also told him as much. Slurred like a swap in the middle of Louisiana. Cloud’s voice hot like humid Southern air. 

Reno runs his thumb across the screen; like he would if the boy had been standing in front of him, all his rage on display, knowing how powerful a simple touch could subdue a wounded wolf. 

_ That power _ . He thinks. Cloud gave him something he never had. Control over a person. 

Something he shouldn’t take for granted. 

But he is comforted by the fact that Cloud is many things including

_ Predicable _ . 

He has the script. 

Reno flips open the found and expects insults like raindrops typed in drunk hieroglyphics. That maybe he’ll weaponize to get Cloud to  _ stand the fuck down _ .

But there’s only a line.

In perfect diction.

In a tone that doesn’t belong to the

Sad. Forlorn. Hopeless.

**Wouldn’t it suck if they found this on your phone?**

Reno cursed the download speed on his device-

As the pixelated puzzle pieces came into focus. 

And he wonders when his brain became as slow as his Motorola as he digests the picture

Like a Monet. He needs to squint and look back. Squint and look back. 

Squint and look back.

And everytime he repeats the rhythm, the phone feels tighter in his hand. 

He feels the wires and plastic start to crack like California in an Earthquake. And he has many questions, but the only one that seems to breach the surface is 

Why does it feel like he’s under water? Muffled voices beyond the bathroom door. All the same accent. All the same questions. 

Torn between wanting to throw up all his rage, or introduce his fist to a new wall. 

Or a face. Fuck, the slap of satisfaction that jostles through his arm every-time he had the fucking pleasure of knocking someone out. 

He’s not even looking at the phone anymore. The image already burned into his retinas. 

He forgets to take into account the words associated with the picture. 

The picture

Of his boyfriend

Under another boy...

Because Reno, if anything is, 

tumultuous. Disordered. Chaotic. 

Mess. 

And he bursts out the door, nearly taking the girl on the other side;

The one with the eyes he can’t remember nor care about. 

And charges for the 

Ornate. Elaborate. Double glass doors that lead towards some kind of salvation. Rude on his tail…

Aerith ducking behind, her own phone to her ear on the receiving end of tear streaked wails.

He’s gonna fix this. 

And he’s so concerned with the heads he will cut off to find Cloud, he doesn’t notice the one that lifts his eyes from his own message…

And smirks.


	2. Hett Street

The hum of the engine. The only sound permitted in the car as the wall of street lights guide them down the hill, towards the unearthly empty intersection of New Dorp Lane and Hylan Boulevard. Something odd about the juxtaposition of the desolate street still illuminated with bright lights from the Mega-grocery store, opened 24 Hours, and the sprinkle of bars and clubs that line the streets, still with four hours worth of life pouring out the doors. But when they cross under the swaying traffic lights, down the more darkened street- right turn down Hett- where the houses go from large and immaculate to torn and in disarray. Peeling paint. Rusted cars on lawns. A rat the size of a cat jumps into the street, then scatters when the headlights cast a warning of approaching predators. 

Reno left his third voicemail. He chokes on his words- battling the niceties he rained from his mouth like an actor with the boiling of his blood gathering in his throat. 

Fuck if this was  _ anyone else _ . He thought.

_ Hey, just answer so I know you’re okay? _

The falseness made him want to vomit. 

The car came to a full stop. A crowd of black clad youths swam the outside of a small house tucked in the back of the street like something unwanted. The occupants exited the car to twenty pairs of eyes glowing in the moonlight. The head of the group, the one Reno knew as Vinny the Vampire, sat on the bannister with his arms over his chest, following the red head with only red iris’. Aerith paid him no heed and ran into the house, where the yellow light leaked onto the twisted faces.

Like statues frozen in time. 

They didn’t move. Or breath, it seemed. Just watched. Like phantoms-

Like the shadows in the corner of your eyes.

Like unspoken threats waiting. For their leader to set them upon the new blood who dared enter this dilapidated sanctuary for the forsaken which smelled like sea water and gasoline. 

Reno recognized a voice from a distance. Heavy with Brooklyn on his tongue. Cursing like a cliche. And when he looked near the left side of the house, he saw Highwind, in Wallace’s face- which Reno had to admit was a ballsy move when Barret stands like Everest, unmoving, casting a dark shadow over the smaller boy. But Barret’s eyes were crushed with emotion. But the emotion seemed new to Reno. He couldn’t put his finger on it- licked his lips to the cold air, knowing his boyfriend would have some silly simile or obnoxious metaphor to compare the way the boy’s brown eyes swirled. 

Not Reno. Though. 

And the thought of Cloud brought his attention back to the snakes around him. All he had to do was throw Rude a look, and the other boy sighed and started littering tense questions onto the ears of the shadows. And they all turned as if hypnotized by the music coming from the taller Sinclair’s mouth. And Reno walked amongst them. His black outfit- his boyfriend's black hoodie- giving him camouflage. 

_ Yo, they lookin for that blonde guy?  _ A rogue voice whispered. His words hiding under Rude’s stern cadence like a child under blankets. 

_ I don’t know. Probably.  _ Another responded, a tremble so slight, but it strikes a nerve. 

_ Why? _

_ Who the fuck cares? That pussy probably owes them money for somethin- _

_ Look at the car they rolled up in- _

_ They don’t seem all that tough. _

_ Probably mommy and daddy’s car. _

_ Ha. Just a couple of South Shore cunts.  _

Reno hated this language. It lacks nuance. It lacks melody. It’s like aluminum on the roof of your mouth. And sounds equally as foul. 

_ And if they are lookin’ for money, they shit outta luck. _

The middle one says, with hair the shade of smoke

_ Fucking bitch overpaid for blues. Amature hour over here. _

Once upon a time, Cloud compared Reno to the minute before a fire. Waiting for a spark to ignite the world. Reno wondered what he would have said if his mouth hadn’t found itself over Cloud’s, and silenced the music. Maybe laugh.

He wasn’t laughing now.

The second it took for him to snatch the boy from his stone colored hair and drag him from the crowd-

He forgot what it meant to smile. Satisfaction only coming from the sounds of panic. Drugged up. Static. Panic. From the squirming worm in his hands. 

He also barely remembered when the kid's body hit the collapsing brick. But he did remember the way the boy’s neck felt in his hand as he squeezed. Like puddy. Like a balloon. And he wondered how much pressure it would take to crush his windpipe.

Golden eyes began to break, and Reno watched with fascination as he gasped in broken breaths for an explanation. 

But he couldn’t tell him, exactly, why he was so.fucking.mad. That he needed to break someone, or something. 

Like he couldn’t tell his nanny why he grabbed his goldfish out of the bowl when he was five and watched it suffocate and die in his hands.

Like he couldn’t tell the priest why he enjoyed plucking the legs off spiders when they wiggle in his tiny fingers. 

Like he couldn’t tell his parents why he beat up the kid who called him  _ that one word _ in the eight grade.

Or the other kid

Or the other kid.

He couldn’t tell anyone

Anything

Ever. 

And before the current kid could turn purple and blue, he’s wrestled from the body. And for the moment, he felt underwater again. Or in space. A thousand light years away. Swirls of colors around him in shades of artificial orange and magnificent white. Hands on him, he tries to break free. When he’s pulled steady. The grip on his shoulders tight with the roughest shake he’s had since he was a kid. And he snapped his eyes at the culprit standing in front of him like an anchor. Eyes liked stained glass. The blues, and grays, and green flakes scattered along cracked whites. 

“Yo, you good?” Highwind asked and stated. At the same time. 

“I’m good.”

Reno couldn’t be sure Cid believed him. With his lips curled into a scowl and eyes still the darkest hue. But the sandy haired boy dropped his hands either way. 

“Whatcha doin’ here, man?”

Fair question. And Reno realized he absolutely.positively.did not plan this out.

At all.

And maybe Cid could tell. 

Maybe Cid could tell a lot of things.

“What’s with everyone mean muggin’ each other?” Reno countered. 

“Shit went down. Cloud’s involved.”

“Cool shit.” Reno dragged his teeth against each other like a saw. “Where’s our mutual friend now?”

And Reno hated the answer just as much as Cid did, from the way his voice dripped with venom. But maybe for different reasons.

“Sephiroth, probably. He fucked off outta hear about an hour ago.”

A lump formed in Reno’s throat; and he tried to hide under vengeful eyes. But the image of Cloud’s night was coming together. And if he was with Sephiroth when he sent that picture:  **Wouldn’t it suck if they found this on your phone?** The cascade of doubt that’s fallen upon them in recent weeks came from the vile mouth of the silver haired boy. 

He ran his hand over his phone in his pocket. 

“So,” Cid continued, “we lookin’ for him or what?”

“Why?”

“I...need to ask him something.”

“What?” Reno narrowed his eyes. 

“None of your business, bro!” He shouted, but then Cid waited a beat and folded his arms over his chest, scanned the length of the red-head in front of him with the blank face and pinched glared. “Unless...it is your business.”

It felt like a punch in the face, sudden. That maybe this shit just wasn’t worth it any more. Too many people with his name in their mouths. And he couldn’t be sure how they would use his name to dismantle everything he worked for. All the sacrifices he made to stay alive last year would be for nothing. The scars on him. The physical. The mental. He can almost feel them reopening like a scissor sliding through paper.

His phone shook in his pocket. And still like a flame of rage, he doesn’t bother looking at the owner.

“Fucking,  _ what?” _ he hissed. 

“Yeah-fuckin,  _ what _ to you too, asshole.”

Cloud’s words sounded like they were filtered through cloth. Like he threw them up and put them back into his mouth. In and out of reality.

“Where in the fuck are you!”

“Where the fuck are you!”

Reno closed his eyes. “I’m with cha buddy, Cid.”

“Yo, straight up, fuck that kid.”

“Yo, straight up fuck you, Cloud,” Reno screamed into the phone, “You are actin like fuckin idiot.”

The longest pause at the other end. He can’t tell if the muffled sounds swimming from the receiver were laughter. And if so, who were the clowns spitting jokes. But Cloud came back with speech which swerved like a car out of control. And the mess that Reno could translate included several reminders that this, this, destruction Cloud created then left was all the red-head’s fault. Reno’s a liar. And a hypocrite. And been treating him like shit since they  _ fucked _ . Before the line cut out. Leaving Reno holding the phone, staring into the empty street ahead. Wondering why he was finding himself agreeing with Cloud. 

“Aight,” Cid started, “This shit is getting fucking dumb.”

“Oh,  _ now _ , it’s getting dumb.” Reno hit Cloud’s contact again, waiting for the three rings to cut short as the wind rushed through his body. 

Another machine, asking to leave a message. 

And the niceties long forgotten.

_ I swear to fuck, you are in so much shit if you dont.answer.your.fucking.phone _ . _ and tell us where you are! _

And another.

_ You don’t just get to treat me like shit because your butthurt. You don’t get to do whatever the fuck you just did because you’re pissed at me. That’s fucking dumb dramatic pussy shit and I’m fucking over it. _

And another.

_ I don’t even know why I’m here. I’m standing here like a fucking idiot in the fucking shit storm you created because you can’t just deal with things like a normal fucking person. You knew the deal! I told you upfront. This is my fault? Yeah, miss me with that shit. _

And ano-

But Cid relieved Reno of the burden of his phone. In a move that gave the red-head pause as he stared at the missing technology in his empty palm, then to Cid who held it tightly with eyes daring Reno to retaliate. 

“Before you say something you’re gonna regret tomorrow.”

A bullet loaded into a gun. Finger on the trigger. 

Reno fucking hated this game. 

So, he clenched his jaw and tried to, for once, think about his actions. Rude appeared with the announcement that it was time to vacate the area, as the kid’s friends he choked out were sniffing for blood. And Reno would be all to happy to give them the satisfaction of just trying to  _ fuck with him _ right now. But Cid, still with his phone, offered an alternative. 

“I think I know where he’s at.”

“Oh yeah? Sudden revelation there, Highwind?”

“If there’s one thing I like about Cloud,” he pockets Reno’s motorola, “he’s predictable.”

And Reno really...did not like the sound of that. 

But through the sound of doubt beating in his heart, he followed the boys lead.

And for the first time, relinquished control. 


	3. Beach Street

**March 2005**

**Stapelton**

**Beach Street**

Reno swore he would never get used to these streets. A slick black ocean of tar splattered with reflections of rainbow LED lights coming from the 24-hour deli. A crackled stone structure covered in graffiti like forced tattoos, holds space at the corner and shoulders the weight of two floors worth of apartments. Attached to it, like an extra limb, a yellow awning swearing to be a tax service. The strip they crawl down is that same pattern. Beauty shop, unisex barber, check cashing. Tax service. Bodega. A dentist sprinkled around with gray shutters screaming “R.I.P Ant Cat” in bubble letters. 

Reno’s been down this road before. Back in the summer when he spent too much time with Rufus Shinra making their daddies “proud.” But it’s been a minute since he drove up to the corner of some twitch fucks block and exchanged faux pleasantries as he circled the street for a minute trying to blend into the blackened night. 

And not alert the cops. 

Here, a black beamer with white boys in the front attracts unwanted attention. Three’s even worse, but at least Highwind had a PBA card and a dead cop dad, Reno thought. Now all they have to worry about was encroaching on the wrong turf. And there’s no time for misunderstandings. 

“Turn down here,” Cid leaned into the front, pointing towards a triangle shaped building which looked like a bank as “Beach Street” shimmered against the headlights. 

“How you so sure he’s gonna be over here?” Reno attempted to even his tone- but the bounce in his leg betrayed him. 

“Seph hangs around here,” Cid’s voice sounded strained. Tense. “He brought Cloud and I to his boy’s house once to buy weed.”

“Seems weak,” Reno grinded his teeth, “Why wouldn’t he be at some party in the South Shore?”

“‘Cause Sephiroth ain’t as cool as Cloud thinks.”

The two boys exchanged a long look- and Reno’s thankful for his cousin’s driving so he could have this silent conversation with the wannabe Punk rocker. He found himself, more often than he deemed comfortable, agreeing with some of the shit that fell from Cid’s thin lips. Especially when it came to the silver-haired boy with the stranglehold around Cloud’s psyche. But he didn’t like the way Cid would eye him in groups- like he was picking up on something Reno tried to keep hidden under layers of his own bullshit. 

Even now, Reno watched as Cid’s sea moss eyes darted around his face as if wondering why Reno was so concerned with Cloud. Or how long have they actually been this  _ close _ . 

Or...wondering what Cloud even saw in him. 

And as that thought crossed the red-head, he found himself wondering the same things about Cid. 

He’d be a dumdfuck if he didn’t see the way his own boyfriend would look at Cid. Like admissions welled in his chest, waiting for the signal to open the wound and spill forbidden desires all over the floor. And Reno knew about the times the two blondes shared the taste of their tongues following drunken dares to themselves. And often found himself contemplating if Cloud felt more than he was willing to admit. And the jokes didn’t help. And Cid’s own worn look didn’t quell this  _ instinct, _ that maybe their relationship wasn’t as secure as Reno thought--

“So,” Reno tore his eyes from Cid, “What did Cloud do to get everyone so tight?”

Silence. The vibration of the engine rattled the windows- and caused Rude to make a throwaway comment about Reno not caring about anything important like the oil levels in his car. And every second Cid  _ doesn’t  _ answer the question burning a hole in his chest, another spark of rage shoots through the red-heads skull. 

“It’s a long stor- wait.” Cid pointed out the front windshield, “I think I see him!” 

The breaks screamed. Reno followed the slender index finger to a pile of black clothes slumped against the rusted green pole with a sign trembling in the blisterious wind as it rattled off potential busses. S52. S74. S72. The only evidence of life was the light of the cigarette burning through paper, and illuminating its owner's destroyed face. 

And Reno knew that look. 

He saw it the first day he bumped into Cloud- who smelled like the night befores liquor and still wore all his mistakes as black circles under pools of ocean blues. And Reno’s heart crescendoed to life the first time the static brain boy’s lips tried to wrap around insults to fling in his direction. All muted from the rasp of his throat, still speckled with tar from too many smokes. 

And he saw it at that kid Johnny’s house when he watched Cloud subconsciously try and fail to overdose on his own supply. And was too pissed at the blonde to try to stop him, until he couldn’t bear the vacant look- distant and plagued with all his self-hatred- for another second. 

And worst, when he saw it at some chick's house, where he showed Reno all his scars like a cracked portrait. And Reno risked his own safety by abandoning the security blanket in the shape of a girl. Just to steal those precious moments. Despite the clench in his jaw telling him to leave. 

There he was reliving the same tragedy like a skipping record. Same story. 

Reno and Cid exited the car, even with Rude’s desperate “ _ we really shouldn’t be here, partner… _ ” trying to beckon him back in. Ignore like every other logical thought flying through the Tennesean’s head. And when he gets close enough to hear the murmurs dripping from Cloud’s mouth like an unchecked faucet, he caught the angry bruise on the blonde’s cheek, the cut on his lip aggravated by the cigarette’s intrusion. Hair a mangled mess, jetting out from underneath the black hoody. Eyes like two black holes surrounded by a red galaxy. All of Cloud’s woes etched across the universe. 

“He looks banged up,” Reno stared at Cid as they stood over Cloud’s form. His knees up to his chest and yet to acknowledge the two boys. Still mumbling curses in between drags of his menthol lites Reno hates. 

“He tried to fight me.” Cid responded blankly. 

“Guess that didn’t end well.”

“He sucks at fighting. Can’t block for shit.” 

But Reno thought it had more to do whatever drugs coursed through Cloud’s body than shitty fighting technique. 

They stand there on the empty sidewalk. The car rumbling threats to get back inside the safety of the vehicle. Reno moved his eyes from the punk next to him, and draped a look on his boyfriend. Crossed with concern and muted rage. He hated seeing him like this; that simple. Mostly because nothing he did, or said, changed the picture before him. And how foolish he was to even think just controlling Cloud’s life when he felt too down to make his own decisions would fix the problem. Depression like roots from an untamed tree crawling under the foundation and tearing him apart. Brick by brick, until the whole thing came crashing down.

“Yo,” Cid shouted, kicking Cloud’s leg, “Get up.”

At this demand, Cloud raises his broken eyes to the pair. A smirked. “You tryin’ to go for round two, bro?” He slurred his words like his mouth was too numb to move around each letter to make them stick. 

“You wouldn’t survive a second round with me,  _ bro _ ,” then Cid nodded over to Reno, “look who I found.”

Cloud shook his head, “fuck off.”

Reno narrowed his eyes, crouching down to get to Cloud’s eye level. He stared into the abyss. Empty except for his own reflection in the two black vortexes. He reached over, plucking the cigarette from the blonde’s exposed fingertips and flicked it on the street. Reno felt a complete disconnect from his own actions. Surprising even himself when he cupped Cloud’s chin and ran his thumb over the bleeding cut on his bottom lip. He examined the forming purple marks scattered across his lover’s face. The dark circles around his eyes. 

And with each fractured line. Each strand out of place. Every time he noticed Cloud’s eyes tremble trying to remain open. The rage which bubbled below him like an active volcano grew. 

“What the fuck are you on?” Reno’s commanding voice smacked Cloud harder than Cid’s fist, flinching under the red-heads gaze. But he didn't answer, just shook his head and let his eyes fall close. Reno, with full restraint, gently hits the bruise on Cloud’s cheek to rattle him back to consciousness. “Wake the  _ fuck _ up, yo. I ain’t done with you.”

“Yeah,” Cloud mumbled, “you are.”

“Oh yeah, I am? Then why the fuck am I here?” 

“There’s no point talkin’ to him when he’s like this,” Cid rolled his eyes, “he’s fuckin’ out his bird. Just pick his ass up and throw him in your car, shit.”

Reno glared at Cid, “Yeah, you callin’ the shots now?” Even though he hated knowing, Cid’s been calling all the shots since they ran into each other at Vincent’s. 

“This ain’t my first rodeo.” Cid walked over to Cloud’s side, “this is the same shit he’s been doing for the last two years I’ve known the kid.” He bent over and grabbed Cloud’s arm, staring directly into Reno’s pinched eyes. “Before you showed up.” 

The wind howled between them. And he tries to analyze Cid’s look. Two trembling orbs of blue marbled glass. “You gonna help me or what? He’s scrawny but he likes to dead weight himself when we usually have to drag him home.”

“The guy who plays three sports can’t lift 170 pounds? Shit.”

Reno cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. Waits for Cid to ask the obvious question;  _ how the fuck do you know how much he weighs _ ?

“165,” But Cid corrected him instead. Another tense exchange between the two but they shelve the obvious realization. 

And Cid wasn’t kidding. When the two boys lifted the blonde, all 165-170 pounds, Cloud offered no assistance. And with grunts and curses, they dragged the half drugged up boy and with Rude’s assistance tossed him in the car. Cloud immediately slouched against the seat, groans replacing his previous bitter tone. Eyes half opened; and Reno hated the wetness pushing past those cracked lids. 

“Sit back there with him,” Cid ordered, “I’ll take the front.”

“The fuck you will!” Reno snapped.

“I’m still pissed at him.”

“So am I!”

“Word? What for, huh?”

He bit his tongue. And the look Rude gave him, disappointed pity, further dragged the knife into his chest. He hated this new trend. The silent orders he’s forced to obey. All his control slipped dramatically from between his own bruised fingers. He got in the car, next to his boyfriend. And tried to hold in all the anger that permeated around him.

  
  
  


The whole ride spent trying to keep Cloud up right. Cursing under his breath and dodging glares in the rearview from Cid and Rude. Scolding his boyfriend. Threatening to kick his ass if he threw up on his car. The other boy barely coherent offered only grunts of disapproval. Until the car came to a screeching halt and sent Cloud’s head right into the passenger seat. 

“Fuckin, Rude!” Reno barked, grabbing Cloud and examined his head, “Drive much?”

“Get your brakes checked, asshole!” Rude shouted in a tone that startled Reno, who never heard his cousin raise his voice. “Now hurry up and get him inside so we can end this shitty fuckin’ night already.”

Cloud’s darkened house looked menacing with all the lights out. And if he didn’t know better, he would swear the brick structure was abandoned of all life. But somewhere in those halls, Cloud’s dad wasn’t missing his son. He unknowingly gripped the blonde’s shoulders while he stared into the vacant window- curtains closed- into the room where they first made love. Where he made promises he swore he could keep in the throws of passion. Where he often found those promises challenged on the days he found his boyfriend in a fetal position, unable to remove himself from the bed. And he doesn’t realize how tight he was holding on to Cloud, until the softest “ow” hit his ears. 

He released only to have Cloud fall into him with a grunt. Calloused fingers wrapping around Reno’s hoodie. Head on Reno’s shoulder, and lips almost too close to his neck. 

And Reno allowed himself one entire second to enjoy the feeling of Cloud against his body. And fought against the urge to wrap his arms around the boy. And keep him there forever. 

“Highwind,” Reno growled, putting back that aloof mask he’s grown accustomed to, and pushing Cloud upright. “A little help getting him inside?”

The two of them struggle to get Cloud out of the car. Push and pull. Push and pull. Trying to make sure he didn’t fall out and hit his face on the concrete sidewalk- to add another bruise on his already broken face. All the while, Rude demanded Reno stay behind.

“Highwind’s got this.”

“We gotta get home.”

“There’s no reason for you to even be here.”

And all of that was lie on lie on lie. And Reno finally told him to fuck off with his car if he was really so concerned. Slam the door. The sound echoing against the empty suburban street. And he noted, while the two carried Cloud’s unconscious body to the basement, the still rumble of his car’s engine. 

Reno unlocked the door with the key he stole from the fake rock. Ignored Cid’s arched brow. Ignored the way Cid held his boyfriend against him--as he tried jabbing the key several times unsuccessfully at first--with one arm around his waist. Like  _ he _ would if he could. Ignored Cid’s laugh when Reno finally got the key in the lock after the third try. 

The basement was a cold black box with suspicious shadows crawling along the walls. Even when he flicked on the yellow light to chase them away, Reno felt a heavy presence in the room he couldn’t place. Cid tossed Cloud onto the couch and Reno winced when he heard the moan escape his throat. Watched as he curled into himself. Legs up. Arms over his face hiding the scars. His breathing evens; the only sign of life. And it’s then, Reno realized his fists are so tight, his nails burn holds in his palms. 

A phantom clock ticked down. 

“Someone should stay with him,” Cid said, “make sure he doesn’t choke on his throw up, or worse.”

“What’s worse than going the way of Hendrix?” Reno hissed. 

A pause. 

Cid took a seat on the coffee table in front of Cloud with a loud sigh. Never taking his eyes off his blonde best friend. Looking at him in a way Reno found himself looking at Cloud. Like there was nothing else in the world as worthy as the broken winged ethereal being sleeping on an ugly floral coach. “He’s done this before, you know? Got so fucked up he couldn’t control his anger. It’s like a timebomb, ” he shook his head, “last time he took triple Cs, way too fuckin many, and smashed the mirror in Vinny’s bathroom and tried-” he closed his eyes, “Barret found him. Patched him up. He was so fucked up he didn’t remember. We made up some story to tell him-”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t you tell him about that!?”

“We didn’t want him to feel like shit! Or be embarrassed. I don’t know just...it’s not his fault. He’s sick.” Cid gestures at the body of limp limbs unconscious to the conversation, “I just didn’t want him to hate himself more. He’s usually good for a while...then something triggers him and sets him off.”

_ Trigger _ . 

Reno ran his fingers through his flame red hair with a loud sigh. Like every strand mocked him for not knowing better. Since they started their secret relationship, they have been dangerously attached to one another. Reno knew Cloud was getting too used to sharing his bed. And Reno would be lying if he didn’t enjoy the morning sun rousing him awake, and finding Cloud with his head on his chest or fingers gently tapping on his hip bone. Afternoons spent in the very basement the three currently occupy. Cloud between his legs, resting up against his chest, with a guitar or game controller in his hands. And Reno felt most at ease when he could run his own hands up and down the blue-eyed boys sides. And just  _ exist _ . No expectations. No hiding. Just Cloud and Reno alive. In the world they created--

And then Reno ripped it away. 

He did. 

Without an explanation. Just suddenly appearing with another blonde on his arm and just  _ expected _ Cloud, his boyfriend, to be fine with everything. 

“I’ll stay,” Cid sighed, “No reason for you to, right?” He looked at the red-head. Scan his form. And it reminded Reno of the way he looked at Cloud the first day in the cafeteria of their school. Taking inventory of every cut, and bruise, and blemish, and ruined uniform. Until eyes met and the glow in Cloud’s gave him away. Reno wondered if his did the same. “What...is he to you, anyway?”

Reno remembered the first time he ever lied. Five years old, he stumbled upon his father in a precarious position with the housekeeper over his desk. And his father, full of rage and Catholic guilt, grabbed his, then, only child and slammed him against the wall. Spewing venomous acid upon the small body. Words that since lost their meaning, but their impact lingered like scars. He was commanded to never speak of what he happened upon again-- and when prompted by the man's snarling mouth what he saw...Reno uttered the weakest “ _ nothing _ .”

_ Nothing _ . And he’d go back to that lie time and time again. 

It was easy. One he could remember and never need to elaborate on--

The word dangled at the tip of his tongue...waiting to crash onto the floor like glass. Offering him an out and an exit. 

Reno took a seat next to Cid on the table. Leaning forward like his own body weight felt too heavy. Or maybe it was the question still hanging in the air, over his head, like a guillotine that made him want to crumble and hide. 

But Cid answered for him, “That complicated?”

Reno had to chuckle. And shook his head, “What’s he to you?”

Cid turned back to Cloud. Eyes lost. Trembling. “I...don’t know anymore.” 

“Heh,  _ that  _ complicated, huh?”

Reno knew the look on Cid’s face all too well. A whirlpool of conflict. Black hole in the center tearing him apart. Aware of feelings brewing just under the surface but unsure of what they mean. Afraid of giving in to the temptation. He’s fighting his own private war. Just like the rest of them. 

“I’ll stay,” Reno offered instead and the breath of relief from Cid was not lost on him. “Rude’s probably still outside...he’ll give you a ride home. He’ll bitch, but tell him I said he can keep my car for a week.”

Several ticks from the phantom clock cut through the air before Cid finally nodded in agreement and took to leave. But not before looking down at Reno one last time, put his hand on his shoulder. “None of us are as stupid as yous two seem to think.”

“Y’all like to act stupid. Can’t blame me, son.” Reno smirked. 

“I don’t know what he fuckin’ sees in you,  _ guy _ .”

“I could say the same thing about you,  _ bro _ .”

A bitter smile twitched along Cid’s face as he dropped his hand from Reno’s shoulder. “You chose to stay. Then stay. Don’t fuckin’ abandoned him again.”

“For better or worse, captain. I got him.”

And somehow the words felt emptier than Reno intended. And he swallowed the rest of his doubt like a bad shot. He wondered if Cid could see through his bullshit. And maybe if Cid still wasn’t pissed about what transpired at the party--a mystery slowly becoming clearer as the night wore on--he would have called Reno out for being a liar. But the normally wild Irishman seemed tame, wounded, and hurt. And there’s very few reasons why best friends would exchange punches. And very few girls who would be in the middle. 

When Cid left, Reno sat on the table for an eternity. Under the hazy orange light. Watching his boyfriend’s raspy breaths cut through the air. He went into this night knowing a shit storm was brewing. Cloud’s text messages to him had been desperate, then angry, then vicious. And Reno’s responses weren’t much better-cold. Vacant. He closed his eyes and thought about how much he felt like his father. Terrible. Not the sign of a healthy relationship.. Not the relationship he wanted in the beginning. 

He huffed. Moved his body so he could share the couch with Cloud and took out his boyfriend’s phone. He didn’t necessarily agree with Cid and Barret’s plan of erasing all remnants of Cloud’s destruction. Or lie about events. But this was different...as he metectiously deleted their text exchanges. One by one. Until he came to the picture. 

Studied it.

Nausea gathered in his chest. 

Cloud’s eyes closed. Barely conscious. As this strung out, filthy, human, touched his body.

Delete. 

The phone asked if he was sure and he hesitated.

And imagined the panic that would capture Cloud, the blind fear, if he woke up to that message staring back at him.

He wiped the picture from Cloud’s phone.

He wiped away the series of voicemails he left. 

Until there was nothing left except the record of his phone calls, and replaced the phone back in Cloud's pocket. 

Then Reno, still acknowledging his own frustration and anger, gently moved a strand of blonde from Cloud’s face so he could look at the boy he tripped and fell in hopeless love with. Thought about how one day they’ll look back on this night, when they are living in their own house far away from this terrible Island, and it’ll be nothing more than a faded memory. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just needed to get this story out of my head so I could literally move on with my life. It would not let me do anything else with it. Ha. This takes place in between chapters 26 and 27 of Cherry Soda Boy. And the whole time I was writing this, I was like, I really want Cid and Reno to start making out. So now I have that in my head. Thanks for the kudos folks! This ain't my best work, but just something to past the time. :D

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea why this wouldn't get this out of my head, but heres some of the events that took place from Reno's POV. I'll be throwing more in this collection. Just a bunch of random stories that take place on the Island I grew up and exist in the same universe as Cherry Soda Boy.


End file.
